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Confusion567
2014-09-07, 02:54 PM
Inspired by my favorite useless trick from 3.5e (under "Psionic Sandwich" here (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1187.0)), I've figured out how to play a sandwich in the new edition.

You: an 11th level or higher wizard who knows Magic Jar.
Additional materials: two slices of bread, lettuce, a 3rd-level or higher wizard or sorcerer friend ("Buddy"), tomato, a 17th-level or higher wizard friend ("Friend"), meat of your choice, an ornamental container worth at least 500gp, mayo and mustard to taste.

Step 1: Make sandwich. This step is extremely important, because otherwise you'll just end up playing a slice of bread or a jar of mayo.
Step 2: Get Buddy to Enlarge the sandwich so that it is size Small. Make sure he concentrates, or this whole thing falls apart.
Step 3: Now that the sandwich is Small, Friend can use True Polymorph to transform the sandwich into a small humanoid. I prefer Kobold, because all wacky builds have Kobolds involved somehow. You now have a Kobold, friendly to your friend Friend, who was born a sandwich.
Step 4: Within the next hour, cast Magic Jar and place your soul into your ornamental container.
Step 5: Switch minds with the Koboldwich.
Step 6: Have Friend and Buddy end their concentration. You will now turn back into a sandwich. Bonus: you now have a jar which contains the soul of a sandwich.

Additional considerations:
As a wizard->sandwich, you no longer have hands or a mouth, and so cannot use the verbal or somatic components of your spells. This is a problem, of course, so I recommend splashing at least two levels of Sorcerer to get access to sorcery points (you can exchange your extra spell slots to get more than 2) and the Subtle Spell metamagic. The wording allows you to use it with any spell, not just Sorcerer spells.

I personally recommend Wizard 17 / Sorcerer 2 / Bard 1.
This gives you 9th level spells, a lot of fun cantrips, and some fantastic first level spells including Cure Wounds ("touch this sandwich and be healed") and Healing Word (without verbal components, of course, which makes complete sense) that allow you to do good party utility from inside the fighter's backpack, plus Dissonant Whispers which causes people to run in fear of the pastrami on rye. Naturally, you still have all the advantages of any 17th-level wizard, which means that you can be the Dread Lord Sandwich, commander of a legion of the undead.

A final point:
The rules are ambiguous as to whether you keep your mental statistics when you become a sandwich. After you use True Polymorph Object->Creature, your sandwich gains the normal stats of a kobold. Presumably, once the spell ends, it loses those stats, and so its Intelligence changes back to the normal zero of a sandwich. If you are inhabiting the body at the time, it's up to the DM whether you keep your int/wis/cha or revert to sandwich statistics (or whether Magic Jar ends if the kobold soul in the jar changes back into a sandwich soul / disappears). I choose to think that any merciful game designer would allow for playing a sandwich, but the rules are not clear on the details.

Edit: Having reread the concentration rules, it looks like you don't need your 17th-level Friend, so long as the DM rules that having your body go comatose and your soul enter a 500gp mason jar doesn't incapacitate you. You can True Polymorph your Ham & Cheese, and then while maintaining concentration, you can Jar yourself and mind-switch. In fact, if you can get Buddy to put a drop of mercury, a dollop of gum arabic, and a wisp of smoke into your 500gp can of tuna, you can even Magic Jar and then Subtle Spell True Polymorph from inside. So as long as you're at least a 17th-level wizard, you can do this with only one low-level helper. If the Monster Manual includes any tiny-sized humanoids, or if you make a Small-sized sandwich (or use an object larger than a sandwich, I suppose), you don't even need Buddy. You can make yourself a sandwich all by yourself.

Inevitability
2014-09-07, 03:09 PM
Nice. Bonus points for finally acknowledging the unwritten rule of GitP.

Rule of Kobold:

If you are creating a nonserious optimized character, it must have a connection to kobolds. Otherwise, Pun Pun the great will descend from his eternal reign over the D&Dverse to personally turn you into a kobold, so that the rule may be fulfilled in the end.

rlc
2014-09-07, 03:36 PM
wouldn't it be better to turn into something a little more non-perishable? like salt or a can of spam? bonus points for spam because chances are nobody will try cracking you open and eating you, unless your adventure is in hawaii.

Confusion567
2014-09-07, 04:30 PM
wouldn't it be better to turn into something a little more non-perishable? like salt or a can of spam? bonus points for spam because chances are nobody will try cracking you open and eating you, unless your adventure is in hawaii.

Well sure, you COULD use this trick to play any object you wanted: a statue, a sword, a castle which becomes a death fortress, flying and invisible and shooting lightning and delivering a payload of hundreds of skeletons upon unsuspecting kingdoms and which can charm enemies into not attacking and can use Shocking Grasp at will against anyone anywhere inside it while filling their heads with horrifying whispers. But why would you want to? We're talking about a sandwich, here.

Now, rotting is a problem, you're right. The question is, is the sandwich now alive? Can it keep itself from rotting? Alternatively, if it's not alive, does that mean that it can cast Animate Dead on its own roast beef to create a tiny, delicious zombie?

These are the questions.

((Seriously, though, think about that castle thing. As long as a castle counts as "an object," you can do this to become a flying death fortress. Now, the really important rules question is, are you still a creature after Polymorph wears off, or are you now an object? Meaning, can you be affected by Fly and Invisibility?))

SaintRidley
2014-09-07, 05:59 PM
Beautiful. We call this magic sandwich Bob, Son of Sam(mich)

pwykersotz
2014-09-07, 06:06 PM
Don't get me wrong, I love Bob the Magic Sammich as much as anyone (the Psionic Sandwich is my favorite 3.5 Psion trick too), but since your game stats get replaced in this version, I believe you die when turning back into a sandwich.

Fable Wright
2014-09-07, 06:41 PM
Huh. My own Sandwich trick was a bit different: Magic Jar into a helper. Use True Polymorph to turn your comatose body (now an object) into a creature. Then, 24 hours later, True Polymorph that creature into a Sandwich. Dismiss the Magic Jar, and enter your original body, which is now a delicious Sandwich. This way, RAW, I believe that your physical and mental stats do not change while you're a sandwich; you're in your own body, and when you enter your own body, your mental and physical stats do not change.

Confusion567
2014-09-07, 07:00 PM
Huh. My own Sandwich trick was a bit different: Magic Jar into a helper. Use True Polymorph to turn your comatose body (now an object) into a creature. Then, 24 hours later, True Polymorph that creature into a Sandwich. Dismiss the Magic Jar, and enter your original body, which is now a delicious Sandwich. This way, RAW, I believe that your physical and mental stats do not change while you're a sandwich; you're in your own body, and when you enter your own body, your mental and physical stats do not change.

That's clever, not to mention more elegant since it doesn't mean your helper needs to have wizard levels (AND you don't even need to buy bread or turkey, you can just magic it). In fact, if you have Subtle Spell, you don't need a helper at all. I don't even think you need the middle step, since your body is comatose rather than dead, which I think still counts as a creature.

pwykersotz
2014-09-07, 07:06 PM
That's clever, not to mention more elegant since it doesn't mean your helper needs to have wizard levels (AND you don't even need to buy bread or turkey, you can just magic it). In fact, if you have Subtle Spell, you don't need a helper at all. I don't even think you need the middle step, since your body is comatose rather than dead, which I think still counts as a creature.

I like it too. But remember, while you may not NEED to buy bread and turkey. And cheese and mayo and an assortment of other condiments and such, it's the best part of the experience. It is the loving crafting of the sandwich that makes this such a thing of beauty. :smallsmile:

Callin
2014-09-07, 07:27 PM
You need Sorc 3 to get metamagics though.

Gnomes2169
2014-09-07, 07:56 PM
Now I want to find out how many standard skeleton units a sandwich is worth, so that I can find the SSU of an SSU! (Standard sandwich, uncut. :P)

Confusion567
2014-09-07, 10:58 PM
You need Sorc 3 to get metamagics though.

Is that so? Drat. Well, build still works, you just don't get healing. 17 Wiz / 3 Sorc.

Vowtz
2014-09-07, 10:59 PM
Warlock 1 can give your sandwich telepathy.

SaintRidley
2014-09-07, 11:26 PM
Warlock 1/Sorc 3/Wiz16. You'll get the sorcery points, and Subtle Spell, and the telepathy. Put them on in whatever order is pleasing to you. You'll have up to 9th level slots, and up to 8th level spells known as a Wizard.

Aurion
2014-09-08, 12:39 PM
So, this begs the question of, what are the racial stats for a sentient sandwich?

Grynning
2014-09-08, 06:04 PM
I am happy this is a thing.

SaintRidley
2014-09-08, 08:13 PM
So, this begs the question of, what are the racial stats for a sentient sandwich?

Glad you asked.

Sandwiches are, if nothing else, a varied lot. When you become a sandwich, replace your original racial stat modifiers with the sandwich's.

There are three main subraces, though there are many more to be considered. However, all sandwiches receive +2 to Constitution. They are hardy folk, filled to bursting with barely contained energy (until digestion), and they are vigorous (or rather, they invigorate those who eat them).

The Classic sandwich subrace receives a +2 bonus to Intelligence. Its sleek, simple design is a marvel of efficiency.

The Sub sandwich subrace receives a +1 bonus to strength. It's big and burly, and its bread often toasted to a nice crisp. The crisp gives Sub sandwiches a racial +1 damage to any attacks made as a reaction against being eaten.

The Open Face sandwich subrace receives a +1 bonus to Charisma, because it should be the party face. They receive Mustardigitation as a cantrip. Mustardigitation takes one action to use and puts mustard stains on amother person's clothing. These stains are permanent.